Street-sweeping machine



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

S. M. SKIRVING & A. J. B. BERGER. STREET SWEEPING MACHINE.

No. 444,025. Patented Jan. 6, 1891.

WITNESSES (No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet 2.

S. M. SKIRVING & A. J. B. BERGER. STREET SWEEPING MACHINE.

No. 444,025. Patented Jan. 6, 1891.

WITNESSES (No Model.) 3 SheetS- Sheet 3.

s. M. SKIRVING & 4. J. B. BERGER STREET SWEEPING MACHINE.

No. 444,025. Patented J44. 6, 1891.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Orricn.

SAMUEL M. SKIRVING AND AMBROSE J. B. BERGER, OF PHILADELPHIA,

PENNSYLVANIA.

STREET-SWEEPING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 444,025, dated January 6, 1891.

' Application filed August 5, 1890. Serial No. 361,084. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, SAMUEL M. SKIRVING and AMBROSE J. B. BERGER, citizens of the United States, both residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improve ment in Street-Sweeping Machines, which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification and accompanying drawings.

Our invention relates to improvements in street-sweeping machines; and it consists, first, of mechanism, substantially as described, for raising and lowering the rotary brush of the device; second, of a novel brush-guard and dirt-gatherer, substantially as described; third, of a tensiondevice for the sprocketchains of the bucket-carrying apron;' fourth, of a movable box for receiving the dirt from the conveyer and a track therefor, substantially as described; fifth, of a novel conveyer, substantially as described; sixth, of the combination of parts herein set forth.

Figure 1 represents a side view of a streetsweeping machine embodying our invention. Fig. 2 represents a top or plan view of the machine shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a sectional view on line a: m, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 represents a sectional view on line y y, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 represents a sectional view on line 2 .2, Fig. 4, on an enlarged scale, the buckets being advanced in position. 6 represents a sectional view on line 4; r, Fig. 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate corre sponding parts in the several figures.

Referring to the drawings, A designates a street-sweeping machine having the frame B and the rear running-wheels C with the axle D. Secured to the frame B and on the sides thereof is a conveyer E, which at its lower horizontal portion F below the frame is open on the one side thereof, forming a trough, so as to admit the dirt thrown therein from the rotary brush G. The said conveyer E extends upwardly on both sides of the frame B and across the same, having an outlet in a chute H on the upper portion of one side thereof. In the corners or attachments of the walls of the said conveyer E are suitably journaled the shafts J, each having sprocketwheels K thereon, and on the sprocket-wheels are secured the chains L, provided with the L taking up the slack of the same, a shaft R with sprocket-wheels S and journaled in a plate '1 is provided. The said conveyer has the recesses U therein, so that the plates are vertically guided by the pins V, which are secured to the said plate and pass into the said recesses. An arm or attachment W of the wall of the conveyer E furnishes a bearing for a screw X, the end of which works against the under face of a plate T, so as to raise the same, and thereby press the sprocketwheel S against the chain L, tightening the same.

The rotary brush G, which is mounted on a shaft Y, extends across the under side of the frame, and on the side opposite the chute H has its end substantially in the plane of the outer side of the rear running-wheel on that side, so as to permit the close approach of the brush to the side of the curb, and thus insure the perfect sweeping of the street.

The ends of the shafts Y have hearings in the slides Z of the boxes A, which latter are secured to the under side of the frame B, and are provided with bevel gear-wheels B,which mesh with bevel-gears G, firmly secured on the lower ends of the vertically-movableshafts D, so as to both rise and rotate therewith, the latter having bearings in cross-pieces or attachments E of the boxes-A. Keyed on the upper ends of the said shafts D are the bevel-wheels F, which are supported on the upper cross-pieces E and mesh with the bevelwheels G on the shaft H, the latter being journaled in the frame B. Between the axle D and the shaft H is a shaft J, which is journaled in the frame B and has thereon a large and a small sprocket-wheel K L, respectively, which are connected by the sprocket-chains M N with the sprocket-wheels P Q on theaXle D and the shaft H, so as to communicate rotary motion from said axle when revolving to the shaft H and thus to the brush G.

The slides Z are vertically movable in the boxes A by means of the links H, pivoted thereto, the elbow-levers S, pivoted to the links and to the boxes A,the rod T, connected with a rod U,eonnecting the upper end of the said levers, and the lever V, pivoted at its lower end to the frame 13 and having the rod T connected therewith, the upper end of said lever Y extending above the frame and being adjacent to the seat W on the frame 1 A rack Z serves to hold the lever V in place when the brush is raised.

Extending across the device and in front of the brush is a curved plate A, forming a shield or guard and also a dirt-gatherc1x The said plate has the studs 13 at its ends, which form journals resting in the oblique slots C in the walls of the boxes A, so as to rise and fall therein in case of inequality of the ground. Pins D" on the slides Z keep the upper end of the shield or guard A from contact with the brush and serve to raise the said shield when the brush is raised, so that it is always the same distance from the brush.

To rotate the sprocket-wheels K of the conveyor E, and thereby the chains L, on one of the shafts J is mounted abevel-wheel E which 0 meshes with a bevel-gear F on a shaft G earrying a sprocket-wheel 11 the latter being connected by a sprocket chain J with a sprocket-wheel K on the axle D, so that retary motion is communicated from said axle 5 to said sprocket-wheels K.

The sprocket-wheels l and K are each connected with a loose member I) of a clutch mechanism, so as to be idle on the axle D when not connected with the fast members M thereof, and the elbow or crank lever N'-, which operates the fast member of the clutch of the wheel P, is connected byarod P with the rod U, so as to be operated by the movements of the lever V, and the fast member 5 M of the wheel K has an operating elbowlever with rod Q connected with a lever R which is pivoted to the frame and has its handle adjacent to the seat l Instead of removing the dirt from the conveyer E by means of the chute ll, it may be conveniently removed from the rear end of the device, and for this purpose the following described mechanism is employed: A box S having an opening T in its top and 5 5 provided with an inclined bottom U and a discharge-valve V is mounted on a track which is supported on the standards X firmly secured to the frame B. The said box is adapted to be moved beneath the upper hori- 6o zont-al portion of the conveyer, so as to receive the dirt from the same through the opening Y in the under side thereof, the said opening being closed when the discharge is from the chute II by means of a sliding The operation of the device is as follows, the parts being as shown in Fig. 1: When the machine is moved forward, the brush G rotates in the direction of the arrow 1, and the dirt in contact with the brush is swept on the shield A and brushed into the trough portion F of the conveyor, through which latter it is passed, being pushed in the horizontal portions thereof and lifted in the vertical portion N by the buckets M until it is discharged either at the opening Y into the box S or from the chute ll. In case of inequalities of the surface of the ground which is being passed over, the shield A, owing to its journals resting loosely in the slots C is permitted to rise and fall, so that there will be no ln'eaking orinjury to these parts. If itbe desired to stop the operation of sweeping, the brush can be readily raised by operating the lever Y, so as to raise the slide Z, thereby lifting the shaft Y with the brush, it being seen that the bevel-wheel C is raised so as to lift the shaft D, which latter slides in the bevel-wheel F, so that the said wheel F is not disengaged from the bevel-wheel G. The same movement of the lever uncouples the members of the clutch mechanism of the sprocket-wheel P, so that the rotation of the axle I) no longer revolves the shafts J, H, D, and Y with the brush G. At the same time the lever B is operated so as to free the fast member from the loose member of the clutch mechanism of the sprocket-wheel K thereby stopping the rotation of the shafts G2 and J and the sproeket-chains L with their buckets M. The machine can now be moved either forward or backward without operating the sweeping mechanism thereon. \Vhen it is desired to employ or bring in operation the said sweeping mechanism, the levers V and R are moved so as to lower the brush and connect the loose and fast members of the clutches of the wheels 1" and K when the machine being moved forward the brush will rotate and the endless chain of the con- Veyer will carry the buckets, as before described.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A street-sweepingmachine having a conveyer with a receiving-trough below the frame thereof, upright passage-ways commnnicat ing with said trough, a horizontal passage way extending across the frame of the machine, an endless belt with buckets thereon, and a rotary brush substantially parallel with said trough, said parts being combined sub stantially as described.

2. Astreet-sweepingmachine providedwith a convcyer having a receiving-trough with an opening in its side, a rotary brush, a shield for said brush, vertical passage-ways on the sides of the frame, a horizontal passageway extending across said frame, and an endless belt with buckets thereon, said parts being combined substantially as described.

3. The combination of a frame, a rotary brush, a dirtgatherer adapted to be raised and ICC) tially as described.

5. In a street-sweeping machine, a frame Withboxes on its underside, slides vertically movable in the ends of said boxes, a rotary shaft journaled in said slides, a brush on said shaft, pivoted links connected with said slide, elbow-levers pivoted to the boxes, and sliding rods with operating-levers, said parts being combined substantially as described.

6. In a street-sweeping machine, a conveyer having an upper horizontal passage extending at one end thereof beyond the side of a descending vertical passage thereof, and an endless belt with buckets working in said passages, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In a street-sweeping machine, a frame with boxes on the under side, slides in said boxes, a brush with journals having bearings in said slides, and a pivoted circular shield partially encircling said brush and adapted to be raised and lowered by the movement of said slides, said parts being combined substantially as described.

8. In a street-sweeping machine, a frame with boxes having slides therein, a rotary brush mounted on said slides, a shield adapted to receive the dirt swept by the brush, and a conveyer having a trough adapted to receive the dirt from the brush and shield, said parts being combined substantially as described.

9. In a street-sweeping machine, a frame with boxes having the slots (3 therein, a rotary brush journaled in slides in said boxes, and a shield journaled in said slots and partially encircling said brush. said parts being .combined substantially as described.

10. In a street-sweeping machine, a pivoted shield for the 'rotary brush thereof, having its journal-bearings freely mounted in slots, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

11. In a street-sweeping machine, a rotary brush having its journal-bearings in vertically-1n0vable slides, a pivoted shield partially encircling said brush, studs on the slides supporting the upper end of said shield, and mechanism, substantially as described, for raising and lowering said brush, said parts being combined substantially as described.

SAMUEL M. SKIRVING. AMBROSE J. B. BERGER.

lVitnesses: JOHN A. Wrnnnasnnnr,

A. P. JENNINGS. 

